Jigoku (aka: Hell) - Criterion Collection — dvd movie review

by Chris and Kris   ⋅   August 11, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

A landmark film in every respect, Jigoku (Hell, aka: The Sinners of Hell), directed by the “father of Japanese horror,” Nobuo Nakagawa (Duel at Lightning Pass), is rife with Faustian allegory, religious symbolism, theological meditations, and brilliantly innovative special effects. The film has since been remade twice, by Tatsumi Kumashiro (The Inferno) and cult favorite Teruo Ishii (Japanese Hell) respectively, and inspired such American films as The Cell and What Dreams May Come. But after forty years, it is still Nakagawa’s original that stands head and shoulders above the rest

The story of Jigoku revolves around a young man named Shiro Shimzu (Shigeru Amachi, Blackmail is my Business). It would seem Shiro has everything going for him. The handsome university student has good academic status, a beautiful fiancée, and an all around promising future. But when a drive home with a devilish friend turns into a hit and run, Shiro finds himself trapped in a downward spiral of deceit and earthly sin, threatening the loss of near everything he holds dear. The irony of the situation is that Shiro’s not that bad a guy — in fact, most would argue he is quite the innocent party. But alas, complicity is sin in the eyes of the immortal, and Shiro’s one shot at redemption will lead him through the end of this life, and through all eight levels of hell.

From the opening titles depicting risqué dancing girls, dripping blood-letters, and evilly creeping smoke set to a cacophony of Jazz and car horns, you know you’re in store for something quite different than the ordinary. The production levels are exceptionally high, especially for n’er do well studio, Shintoho, whose main bread and butter lay in B-Movie action and horror pictures. Nakagawa seems to have squeezed every penny of the film’s budget into maximizing the quality of the set and costume design, makeup, and lighting. The depictions of hell involve some of the most innovative practical effects work ever committed to film. Cocteau-esque* super-impositions, colored filters, ferocious flames, deadly dharma wheels, rivers of blood, ominous fog, and genuinely frightening gore effects abound. The film’s high contrast look facilitates the narrative’s heavy reliance on colors and their emotional connotations — red is sinful, green represents envy and/or hate, and white and pink represent purity and innocence. All pop out of the pitch blacks and ghostly (stage) lights, demanding your immediate attention.

But, for all the talk of production, there’s also an amazing wealth of talent supporting the film. Amachi’s Shiro is definitely endearing as he stumbles along his cursed path of loss and tragedy. You know his fate, yet you feel compelled to cheer him on. Likewise Youichi Numada (Red Peony Gambles Her Life, Ringu)’s turn as Tamura, the friend/alter-ego/devil in the flesh, is delightfully over the top, and generates some of the best sequences in the film. Lastly, Utako Mitsuya (The Super Giant films) is truly luminescent as Shiro’s rays of hope, Yukiko and Sachiko. All add a tangible reality to the proceedings that does not waver, even in the face of the supernatural showstoppers.

Without a doubt, Jigoku is one film that will be discussed and admired for years to come. Fans of horror and the surreal, both new and old, will marvel at its amazing imagery, and cineastes of all ages will savor its accessible, yet surprisingly literary story. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

*Thanks Kris!

The Disc
As you would expect, Jigoku has undergone Criterion’s industry leading restoration process. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, in a high definition digital transfer from a new 35mm print. The colors are bight and the blacks deep black, with no discernable color bleed or edge enhancement to be found. Being that the film relies so heavily on color, this is really a wonderful service to the viewer. The film has also received a brand new sub-titling in order to fully convey the tone of the story to the non-Japanese speaking viewer.

First up on the disc’s extras are two excellent galleries of theatrical posters, one for Shintoho releases, and the other for films by Nobuo Nakagawa. If you are familiar with old Japanese theatrical posters you are probably know and love their super-flat style and eye-catching layouts. Most of the posters in these galleries I have not seen before, whether in Paperback collections or other DVD extras. A very nice bonus.

The second major item is a forty minute documentary on the work of director Nobuo Nakagawa and the making of the film Jigoku. Appearing in the documentary are interviews with Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Kairo, Charisma) on the influence Nakagawa’s films have had on his work, actor Youichi Numata on working with Nakagawa, and screenwriter Ichiro Miyagawa and colleague Kensuke Suzuki on the inspiration for the film, the history of the Japanese horror film, and their experiences with Nakagawa. This is a very informative and interesting documentary, and held my interest throughout. There are quite a few nuggets of information you’ll probably find yourself relating to your friends (the reasoning behind the Summer release schedule for horror films, for instance).

Lastly you have a fairly lengthy trailer for the original film. I recommend not watching the trailer until after watching Jigoku, for quite a few choice bits are revealed in its runtime.

The review copy I received did not have the essay by Chuck Stevens, so I cannot say anything one way or the other about it.

All in all, Criterion has released an amazing disc that no serious horror enthusiast, domestic or Japanese, should be without.

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic since age six. A former film and English major, he is now a Java Developer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley. Some of his favorite Japanese films include Shall We Dansu?, Lady Snowblood, The Hidden Fortress, and Kikujiro. You can now add Jigoku to that list.

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